The VP2 protein of grass carp reovirus(GCRV) expressed in a baculovirus exhibits RNA polymerase activity

The double-shelled grass carp reovirus （GCRV） is capable of endogenous RNA transcription and processing.Genome sequence analysis has revealed that the protein VP2,encoded by gene segment 2 （S2）,is the putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase （RdRp）.In previous work,we have ex-pressed the functional region of VP2 that is associated with RNA polymerase activity （denoted as rVP2390-900） in E.coil and have prepared a polyclonal antibody against VP2.To characterize the GCRV RNA polymerase,a recombinant full-length VP2 （rVP2） was first constructed and expressed in a baculovirus system,as a fusion protein with an attached His-tag.Immunofluorescence （IF） assays,together with immunoblot （IB） analyses from both expressed cell extracts and purified Histagged rVP2,showed that rVP2 was successfully expressed in Sf9 cells.Further characterization of the replicase activity showed that purified rVP2 and GCRV particles exhibited poly（C）-dependent poly（G） polymerase activity.The RNA enzymatic activity required the divalent cation Mg2＋,and was optimal at 28 ℃.The results provide a foundation for further studies on the RNA polymerases of aquareoviruses during viral transcription and replication.

High Level Expression of Grass Carp Reovirus VP7 Protein in Prokaryotic Cells

Sequences analysis revealed Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) s10 was 909 nucleotides coding a 34 kDa protein denoted as VP7, which was determined to be a viral outer capsid protein (OCP). To obtain expressed OCP in vitro, a full length VP7 gene was produced by RT-PCR amplification, and the amplified fragment was cloned into T7 promoted prokaryotic expression vector pRSET. The recombinant plasmid,which was named as pR/GCRV-VP7,was then transformed into E.coli BL21 host cells. The data indicated that the expressed recombinant was in frame with the N-terminal fusion peptide. The over-expressed fusion protein was produced by inducing with IPTG, and its molecular weight was about 37kDa, which was consistent with its predicted size. In addition, the fusion protein was produced in the form of the inclusion body with their yield remaining steady at more than 60% of total bacterial protein. Moreover,the expressed protein was able to bind immunologically to anti-his-tag monoclonal antibody (mouse) and anti-GCRV serum (rabbit). This work provides a research basis for further structure and function studies of GCRV during entry into cells.

Expression of Outer Capsid Protein VP5 of Grass Carp Reovirus in E.coli and Analysis of its Immunogenicity

Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) is a tentative member of the Aquareovirus genus in the family Reoviridae. The mature virion comprises 11 dsRNA genomes enclosed by two concentric icosahedral proteins shells that is comprised of five core proteins and two outer capsid proteins. The genome sequence and 3D structure demonstrate there is a higher level of sequence homology in structural proteins between GCRV and mammalian orthoreoviruses (MRV) compared to other members of the family. To understand the pathogenesis of GCRV infection, the outer capsid protein VP5, a homology of the μ1 protein of MRV, was expressed in E.coli. It was found that the recombinant VP5 was highly expressed, and the expressed His-tag fusion protein was involved in the formation of the inclusion body. Additionally, specific anti-VP5 serum was prepared from purified protein and western blot demonstrated that the expressed protein was able to bind immunologically to rabbit anti GCRV particle serum and the immunogenicity was determined by ELISA assay. Additional experiments in investigating the functional properties of VP5 will further elucidate the role of the GCRV outer capsid protein VP5 during entry into host cells, and its interaction among viral proteins and host cells during the infection process.

Molecular Characterization of Nonstructural Protein NS38 of Grass Carp Reovirus

Viral nonstructural proteins in both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses play important roles in viral replication. Protein NS38 of Grass carp reovirus (GCRV), has been deduced to be a non-structural protein, and, consistent with other reoviruses, is considered to cooperate with the NS80 protein in viral particle assembly. To investigate the molecular basis of the role of NS38, a complete protein was expressed in E.coli for the first time. It was found that there is a better expression of NS38 induced with IPTG at 28 ℃ rather than 37 ℃. In addition, the antiserum of NS38 prepared with purified fusion protein and injected into rabbit could be used for detecting NS38 protein expression in GCRV infected cell lysate, while there is not any reaction crossed with purified virus particle, confirming NS38 is not a component of the viral structural protein. The result reported in this study will provide evidence for further viral protein-protein and protein-RNA interaction in dsRNA viruses replication.

Suppression of RNA Interference Pathway in vitro by Grass Carp Reovirus

The means of survival of genomic dsRNA of reoviruses from dsRNA-triggered and Dicer-initiated RNAi pathway remains to be defined. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) replication on the RNAi pathway of grass carp kidney cells (CIK). The dsRNA-triggered RNAi pathway was demonstrated unimpaired in CIK cells through RNAi assay. GCRV-specific siRNA was generated in CIK cells transfected with purified GCRV genomic dsRNA in Northern blot analysis; while in GCRV-infected CIK cells, no GCRV-specific siRNA could be detected. Infection and transfection experiments further indicated that replication of GCRV correlated with the increased transcription level of the Dicer gene and functional inhibition of in vitro synthesized egfp-siRNA in silencing the EGFP reporter gene. These data demonstrated that although only the genomic dsRNA of GCRV was sensitive to the cellular RNAi pathway, unidentified RNAi suppressor protein(s) might contribute to the survival of the viral genome and efficient viral replication.

Expression and Identification of Inclusion Forming-related Domain of NS80 Nonstructural Protein of Grass Carp Reovirus

Grass carp reovirus （GCRV）, a double stranded RNA virus that infects aquatic animals, often with disastrous effects, belongs to the genus Aquareovirus and family Reoviridea. Similar to other reoviruses, genome replication of GCRV in infected cells occurs in cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, also called viral factories. Sequences analysis revealed the nonstmctural protein NS80, encoded by GCRV segment 4, has a high similarity with μNS in MRV（Mammalian orthoreovimses）, which may be associated with viral factory formation. To understand the function of the μNS80 protein in virus replication, the initial expression and identification of the immunogenicity of the GCRV NS80 protein inclusion forming-related region （335-742） was investigated in this study. It is shown that the over-expressed fusion protein was produced by inducing with IPTG at 28℃. In addition, serum specific rabbit antibody was obtained by using super purified recombinant NS80（335-742） protein as antigen. Moreover, the expressed protein was able to bind to anti-his-tag monoclonal antibody （mouse） and NS80〈335.742） specific rabbit antibody. Further western blot analysis indicates that the antiserum could detect NS80 or NS80C protein expression in GCRV infected cells. This data provides a foundation for further investigation of the role of NS80 in viral inclusion formation and virion assembly.

Construction and Co-expression of Grass Carp Reovirus VP6 Protein and Enhanced Green Fluorescence Protein in the Insect Cells

Grass carp reovirus(GCRV),a disaster agent to aquatic animals,belongs to Genus Aquareovirus of family Reoviridea.Sequence analysis revealed GCRV genome segment 8(s8) was 1 296 bp nucleotides in length encoding an inner capsid protein VP6 of about 43kDa.To obtain in vitro non-fusion expression of a GCRV VP6 protein containing a molecular of fluorescence reporter,the recombinant baculovirus,which contained the GCRVs8 and eGFP(enhanced green fluorescence protein) genes,was constructed by using the Bac-to-Bac insect expression system.In this study,the whole GCRVs8 and eGFP genes,amplified by PCR,were constructed into a pFastBacDual vector under polyhedron(PH) and p10 promoters,respectively.The constructed dual recombinant plasmid(pFbDGCRVs8/eGFP) was transformed into DH10Bac cells to obtain recombinant Bacmid(AcGCRVs8/eGFP) by transposition.Finally,the recombinant bacluovirus(vAcGCRVs8/eGFP) was obtained from transfected Sf9 insect cells.The green fluorescence that was expressed by transfected Sf9 cells was initially observed 3 days post transfection,and gradually enhanced and extended around 5 days culture in P1(Passage1) stock.The stable high level expression of recombinant protein was observed in P2 and subsequent passage budding virus(BV) stock.Additionally,PCR amplification from P1 and amplified P2 BV stock further confirmed the validity of the dual-recombinant baculovirus.Our results provide a foundation for expression and assembly of the GCRV structural protein in vitro.

AC3介导草鱼GCRV感染的功能机制研究

【背景】草鱼呼肠孤病毒(GCRV)感染可通过增大血管内皮通透性而引发渗漏出血。【目的】为探明腺苷酸环化酶3(AC3)介导GCRV感染的功能机制,在草鱼肾脏细胞系(CIK)中开展了系列研究。【方法】在CIK细胞内成功实现了AC3过表达,使用荧光定量PCR(qPCR)检测GCRV感染不同时间点(0 h、12 h、24 h)ac3、claudin c、claudin 15、claudin 18、irf3、irf7、ifn1和ifn2的相对表达量;通过蛋白免疫印迹(WB)检测GCRV VP7的蛋白量;采用细胞电阻仪检测CIK细胞层不同条件下的跨内皮电阻(TEER)值,以及利用透射电镜检测CIK细胞间的连接状态。【结果】研究结果显示,AC3过表达显著增强了CIK细胞紧密连接分子claudin 15和claudin 18的表达量,但对干扰信号素通路基因irf3、irf7、ifn1和ifn2的表达水平未产生显著影响,而抑制了GCRV VP7的蛋白量。跨内皮电阻检测发现,AC3过表达显著增加了CIK细胞层的电阻值。透射电镜检测结果显示,AC3过表达降低了GCRV感染对CIK细胞间连接的损伤程度。【结论】AC3可以影响claudin分子的相对表达量及细胞屏障功能,抑制GCRV在细胞中的增殖。【意义】本研究从细胞通透性角度开拓了GCRV抗性关联分子发掘的新路径。

草鱼呼肠孤病毒GCRV-GD108株VP5蛋白功能及免疫原性分析

在前期研究中分离到一株草鱼呼肠孤病毒,GCRV-GD108,并获得其全基因组序列。该病毒株的M5基因编码VP5蛋白,该蛋白与哺乳动物正呼肠孤病毒μ2蛋白具有较高的同源性及相似的NTPase结合保守区域,推测VP5蛋白也同样具有NTPase活性。为检测VP5蛋白是否具有NTPase活性及其是否具有免疫保护作用,采用已构建的原核表达载体表达VP5重组蛋白,通过孔雀绿钼酸铵法检测纯化后的重组蛋白的NTPase活性。采用DNAstar软件预测M5基因编码蛋白的抗原性,综合蛋白亲水性、表面可及性与表面抗原性三项指标,预测编码蛋白可形成抗原表位的氨基酸区域数多达86个,提示VP5蛋白具有较强的免疫原性。用重组蛋白VP5免疫健康草鱼,通过人工攻毒实验检测VP5蛋白的免疫保护作用。结果显示,VP5重组蛋白具有NTPase活性,且其NTPase活性依赖于Mg2+或Na+/K+,而Ca2+的存在可能抑制其活性;VP5蛋白可诱导草鱼产生高水平的抗体滴度,并显著提高IgM mRNA的表达水平,但未能为草鱼提供抗GCRV感染的保护。研究首次证实GCRV-GD108株VP5蛋白具有NTPase活性,但不能为草鱼提供免疫保护作用。

赤眼鳟TRAF6基因的cDNA克隆及其应对GCRV的免疫表达特性

为研究赤眼鳟(Squaliobarbus curriculus)肿瘤坏死因子受体相关因子6基因的结构特性及其应对GCRV的免疫表达特性,采用RACE技术获得了赤眼鳟TRAF6基因的cDNA全长(共2 621 bp),其中包含5′端非编码区50 bp,开放阅读框1 629 bp,3′端非编码区942 bp;该基因编码542个氨基酸,推导的蛋白质相对分子质量为61670,理论等电点为6.01。SMART结构分析结果显示,TRAF6基因编码的蛋白包含1个RING结构域、2个锌指结构域、1个螺旋卷曲结构域和1个MATH结构域。系统进化树分析结果表明,赤眼鳟TRAF6与团头鲂TRAF6的亲缘关系最近。实时荧光定量PCR结果显示,TRAF6在赤眼鳟的12种组织中均有表达,其中在肝脏中的表达量最高,在中肠中的表达量最低;经GCRV感染后,赤眼鳟脾脏和头肾中TRAF6均呈波动上调趋势,在24 h达到峰值,表明TRAF6参与了赤眼鳟抗GCRV的免疫应答反应。

逆转录环介导等温扩增联合横向流动试纸条快速检测草鱼(Ctenopharyngodon idellus)呼肠孤病毒(GCRV)的研究

草鱼呼肠孤病毒(grass carp reovirus,GCRV)是一种双链分节段RNA病毒,是引起草鱼出血病的(hemorrhage of grass carp)的病原,目前临床上较为流行的为基因I型和II型GCRV。本研究利用逆转录环介导等温扩增技术(reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification,RT-LAMP)进行核酸扩增,通过横向流动试纸条方法(lateral flow dipstick,LFD)进行可视化检测,分别建立了可应用于基因I型和II型GCRV快速检测的RT-LAMP-LFD技术。该技术以基因I型和II型GCRV第六基因为检测靶标,分别设计了2对特异性引物(其中,上游内引物由生物素biotin标记)和1条异硫氰酸荧光素(fluorescein isothiocyanate,FITC)标记的探针。结果表明,RT-LAMP最适反应温度为63oC,扩增时间为40min,从核酸扩增到LFD结果判读仅需50min。利用RT-LAMP-LFD可特异性检出基因I型和II型GCRV,而对鲤疱疹病毒II型(Cy HV-2)、鲤春病毒血症病毒(SVCV)、嗜水气单胞菌等鱼类常见病原的核酸检测结果为阴性,而且两种基因型RT-LAMP-LFD方法只能检测本基因型GCRV,特异性良好。该方法最低可检测到1.19pg的基因I型GCRV的RNA,1.88pg基因II型GCRV的RNA,其灵敏度分别比相应的RT-PCR方法高2个数量级和1个数量级。对实际样品的检测结果表明,两种基因型RT-LAMP-LFD方法检测GCRV与普通RT-PCR扩增并测序的结果一致。因此,该方法可快速、特异地检测出GCRV,而且操作简单,费用低且耗时短,不需特殊仪器设备,有望成为GCRV现场检测的常规技术手段。

GCRV及其细胞灭活苗对草鱼4种酶活性的影响

以G1组1×106TCID50/mL、G2组1×103TCID50/mL两种不同浓度草鱼呼肠孤病毒通过腹腔注射感染草鱼,G3组用草鱼呼肠孤病毒细胞灭活苗注射免疫草鱼,并设计对照组:用相同体积的PBS腹腔注射草鱼,分别在注射后1、2、7、14 d取血清及肝脏,测定其酸性磷酸酶(ACP)、碱性磷酸酶(AKP)、髓过氧化物酶(MPO)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)的活性,通过各项酶活力变化规律来研究病毒感染及疫苗免疫对草鱼非特异性免疫功能的影响。结果表明:ACP活性,与对照组比较血清中各处理组变化不显著,肝脏中大体呈现先降低后升高的趋势;AKP活性,血清中G1组呈现先升高后降低的趋势,G2、G3组呈现持续升高的趋势,肝脏中G1、G2组均呈现先降低再升高再降低的趋势,G3组呈现先升高再降低的趋势;MPO活性,血清中G1组呈上升趋势,G2组呈先升高再下降的趋势,G3组呈现升高再降低再升高的趋势,肝脏中G1组呈现先降低再升高再降低的趋势,G2组与G3组均呈现先升高再降低的趋势;SOD活性,血清中G1组呈现先升高再降低的趋势,G2组呈现升高的趋势,G3组呈现先高再降低再升高的趋势,肝脏中G1组呈现先升高后降低的趋势,G2组呈现降低的趋势,G3组呈现先降低后升高的趋势。结果显示:MPO及SOD两种酶活性在G1、G2及G3血清中变化趋势不一,说明这两种酶活性跟刺激物浓度及种类存在一定关系。

草鱼呼肠孤病毒(GCRV)部分基因片段cDNA文库的构建

在随机六聚体引物浓度不变条件下 ,分别采用 0 .5、2、5μg草鱼呼肠孤病毒 (GCRV)单一片段RNA进行反转录cDNA合成及文库构建。结果表明 ,在GCRV RNA模板浓度大于 2 μg时 ,第二链cDNA合成产物可直接通过EB染色的琼脂糖凝胶电泳进行定量及鉴定。选择cDNA与载体连接比率为 5∶1,在高效电转化条件下 ,可获得 10 6 转化子 /μgcDNA的转化效率。阳性克隆子经酶切及PCR鉴定 ,约 4 5%以上的插入片段大于 50 0bp。

草鱼出血病分子流行病学及GCRV多样性研究

[目的]分析不同基因型GCRV分离株与患草鱼出血病草鱼症状的相关性。[方法]采用RT-PCR检测患病草鱼,应用生物信息学方法分析基因型内和基因型间不同分离株间的差异。[结果]对近3年来草鱼出血病分子流行病学分析发现,患草鱼出血病病鱼多为"肠炎型"症状,且检测发现其病原多属于GCRV基因型Ⅲ型。对GCRV的多样性分析表明,不同分离株同源蛋白的同源率高达93%以上,却被给予完全不同的名称,给GCRV多样性研究带来一定的困难;同一基因型不同分离株同源蛋白间的变异位点较少,且功能位点发生变异的更少;不同基因型不同分离株同源蛋白间的保守位点较少,且这些保守位点中只有极少数位点为功能位点;不同基因型分离株同源结构蛋白间存在较大的差异,且同源非结构蛋白间的差异更为显著。[结论]草鱼出血病不同临床症状可能与其病原基因型不同有关。

草鱼呼肠孤病毒GCRV 096 VP7蛋白的表达及免疫原性

【目的】研究草鱼呼肠孤病毒(grass carp reovirus, GCRV)096 vp7基因的原核和真核表达及其编码蛋白的免疫原性。【方法】应用RT-PCR技术获得GCRV 096 vp7基因,构建GCRV 096 vp7基因原核表达载体pET-VP7,用原核表达的GCRV 096 VP7蛋白免疫草鱼(Ctenopharyngodon idellus)15 d后,用GCRV 096和GCRV GD108分离株对其攻毒,检测GCRV 096 VP7的免疫原性。构建GCRV 096 vp7基因真核表达载体p EGFP-N3-VP7,分析其在草鱼CIK细胞中的表达。【结果与结论】GCRV 096 vp7基因的开放阅读框ORF (GenBank登录号为JN206665)为831 bp,编码276个氨基酸。成功构建GCRV 096 vp7基因原核表达载体pET-VP7,并在大肠杆菌BL21中诱导表达成功;最优表达条件是0.2 mm/L IPTG、28℃下表达5 h,通过HisTrap HP柱纯化融合蛋白,Western blot分析结果表明,所表达的蛋白为目的蛋白。经免疫及GCRV攻毒后,GCRV 096(Ⅰ型)免疫组vp7基因的表达水平降低(P <0.05),而GCRV GD108(Ⅱ型)免疫组vp7基因的表达无显著差异,表明GCRV 096 VP7蛋白对GCRV096具有良好的免疫效果,但对GCRVGD108无明显的免疫效果。成功构建GCRV096vp7基因真核表达载体pEGFP-N3-VP7,Western blot分析结果表明,GCRV 096 VP7蛋白在草鱼肾(CIK)细胞中成功表达。

3D reconstruction and capsid protein characterization of grass carp reovirus

Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) is a relatively new virus first isolated in China and is a member of the Aquareovirus genus of the Reoviridae family. Recent report of genomic se-quencing showed that GCRV shared high degree of homology with mammalian reovirus (MRV). As a step of our effort to understand the structural basis of GCRV pathogenesis, we determined the three-dimensional (3D) structure of GCRV capsid at 17 ? resolution by electron cryomicro-scopy. Each GCRV capsid has a multilayered organization, consisting of an RNA core, an inner, middle and outer protein layer. The outer layer is made up of 200 trimers that are arranged on an incomplete T=13 icosahedral lattice. A characteristic feature of this layer is the depression re-sulting from the absence of trimers around the peripentonal positions, revealing the underlying trimers on the middle layer. There are 120 subunits in the inner layer arranged with T=1 symme-try. These structural features are common to other members of the Reoviridae. Moreover, SDS-PAGE analysis showed that GCRV virions contain seven structural proteins (VP1-VP7). These structural proteins have a high degree of sequence homology to MRV, consistent with the structural similarities observed in our study. The high structural similarities of isolated GCRV and MRV suggest that future structural studies focusing on GCRV entering into and replicating within its host cell are necessary in order to fully understand the structural basis of GCRV pathogenesis.

Antigenic analysis of grass carp reovirus using single-chain variable fragment antibody against IgM from Ctenopharyngodon idella

Grass carp （Ctenopharyngodon idella） is an important species of freshwater aquaculture fish in China. However, grass carp reovirus （GCRV） can cause fatal hemorrhagic disease in yearling populations. Until now, a strategy to define the antigenic ca- pacity of the virus＇s structural proteins for preparing an effective vaccine has not been available. In this study, some sin- gle-chain variable fragment antibodies （scFv）, which could specifically recognize grass carp IgM, were selected from a con- structed mouse naive antibody phage display cDNA library. The identified scFv C1B3 clone was shown to possess relatively higher specific binding activity to grass carp IgM. Furthermore, ELISA analysis indicated that the IgM level in serum from vi- rus-infected grass carp was more than two times higher than that of the control group at 5-7 days post infection. Moreover, Western blot analysis demonstrated that the outer capsid protein VP7 has a specific immuno-binding-reaction with the serum IgM from virus-infected grass carp. Our results suggest that VP7 can induce a stronger immune response in grass carp than the other GCRV structural proteins, which implies that VP7 protein could be used as a preferred immunogen for vaccine design.

草鱼Noxa基因克隆及其应答GCRV入侵的表达响应

研究通过获得草鱼Noxa基因(Cinoxa)全长c DNA,进行序列分析和进化树构建,使用定量PCR(q PCR)的方法研究其在GCRV刺激下的表达模式。研究发现,草鱼Noxa基因的蛋白序列与斑马鱼Noxa基因具有高度相似性。通过分析草鱼和斑马鱼的Noxa基因的蛋白三维结构(3D)模型,研究发现两者具有高度一致的蛋白三维结构模式,该模型与高等哺乳类中的Bcl-2家族蛋白中C端结构域同源。对Cinoxa在GCRV刺激下的表达模式的研究表明,Cinoxa在GCRV感染后中肾、脾脏和头肾中表达发生显著性变化,攻毒后24h和120h出现显著上调表达。研究表明草鱼Noxa为斑马鱼Noxa的同源基因,并且参与了草鱼对GCRV入侵的应答反应,为深入研究鱼类Noxa应答病毒入侵的功能和转录调控机制奠定了基础。

Temperature-regulated typeⅡgrass carp reovirus establishes latent infection in Ctenopharyngodon idella brain

Grass carp reovirus(GCRV)causes extensive infection and death in grass carp and black carp fingerlings,with a highly seasonal prevalence.Previous studies suggested that GCRV can become latent after primary infection.In this study,we investigated type II GCRV(GCRV-II)latency in asymptomatic grass carp with GCRV infection or exposure history.We found that during latent infection,GCRV-II was detectable only in the brain of grass carp,unlike the multi-tissue distribution observed in natural infection.GCRV-II only caused damage to the brain during latent infection,while in natural infection,brain,heart,and eye tissues had relatively higher viral loads.We also discovered viral inclusion bodies in infected fish brains.Additionally,GCRV-II distribution in grass carp was notably affected by ambient temperature,with the virus targeting the brain only during low temperatures and multi-tissue distribution during high temperatures.This study provides insights into the mechanisms of GCRV-II latent infection and reactivation and contributes to the prevention and control of GCRV pandemics.

Characterization of viral entry and infection of quantum dot-labeled grass carp reovirus

Dear Editor,Reoviruses are non-enveloped icosahedral virions with an outer capsid surrounding their cores,which harbor the10–12 segmented double-stranded RNA(ds RNA)genome.To date,there are 15 proposed genera in the family Reoviridae(King et al.,2012),including Aquareovirus.Generally,aquareoviruses are of low pathogenicity in aquaculture.However,grass carp reovirus(GCRV)is